Politico reports that Republican President-Elect Donald Trump picked Jeffrey Eisenach, "a crusader against regulation," and consistent critic of current Federal Communications Commission chief Tom Wheeler, to lead his telecom transition team. Eisenach is a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute and critic of the Obama administration's net neutrality, and broadband investment policies, and also the leading name among Washington insiders to run the FCC. Robert Atkinson, president of the non-partisan think tank Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, told Scientific American what to expect if Eisenach is named FCC chairman.

"If it is Jeff, then broadband access will no longer be classified as a Title II service that’s subject to a wider range of rules and is much easier to regulate. Instead, it will once again be considered a Title I service, making it harder for the government to get legal approval to do price or privacy regulations. With Jeff, you’d also see a push for ending what we might call government overbuilding, such as federal grants for local communities that have access to commercial broadband but decide it’s not fast enough and want to build another network on top of or alongside it. And you’d see a big push for freeing up space on the radio spectrum to pave the way for a transition to 5G next-generation networks."